Telecom

The idea of Africa as a “mobile-first” continent is in vogue, with this idea born out by the fact the vast majority of Africans access the internet via the increasingly prevalent mobile phone.
But could this fact - often given as evidence for the continent’s ability to leapfrog stages of development - actually be holding the continent [...]

Total value of significant data centre-orientated M&A deals that closed in 2017 surged to $20bn, almost doubling the figure from 2016, according to Synergy Research Group
The figure, which far surpasses the joint total from 2016 and 2015, emphasises how the data centre and colocation industry is being driven by enterprises trying to minimise investments in [...]

At the annual AfricaCom conference in Cape Town, South Africa pan-African ICT investor, Convergence Partners and 4Di Group announced a recently concluded acquisition of a significant minority stake in ESET Southern Africa by Convergence Partners. ESET Southern Africa is the local distributor and brand operator for leading global internet and endpoint security software vendor ESET, [...]

Bharti Airtel has struck a deal to buy Tata Teleservices’ wireless mobile business on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The deal will see Tata Sons offload its consumer mobile business, with Airtel assuming Tata Teleservices’ 40 million additional customers. We believe today’s agreement is the best and most optimal solution for the Tata Group and its [...]

Verizon is understood to be the “unnamed telco” that has offered almost double AT&T’s $1.6bn bid for wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Straight Path, which specialises in millimetre wave (mmW) communications, had already received a bid of $1.6 billion from AT&T, but according to US report, Verizon has almost doubled the amount on offer. Straight [...]